WVC 31 - 15 C- 3
§31-15C-3. Broadband Enhancement Council; members of council;
administrative support.
(a) The Broadband Enhancement Council is hereby established.
The council is a governmental instrumentality of the state. The
exercise by the council of the powers conferred by this article and
the carrying out of its purpose and duties are considered and held
to be, and are hereby determined to be, essential governmental
functions and for a public purpose. The council is created under
the Department of Commerce for administrative, personnel and
technical support services only.
(b) The council shall consist of thirteen voting members,
designated as follows:
(1) The Secretary of Commerce or his or her designee;
(2) The Department of Administration Chief Technology Officer
or his or her designee; and
(3) The Vice Chancellor for Administration of the Higher
Education Policy Commission or his or her designee;
(4) The State Superintendent of Schools or his or her
designee; and
(5) Nine public members that serve at the will and pleasure of
the Governor and are appointed by the Governor with the advice and
consent of the Senate, as follows:
(i) One member representing users of large amounts of
broadband services in this state;
(ii) One member from each congressional district representing rural business users in this state;
(iii) One member from each congressional district representing
rural residential users in this state;
(iv) One member representing urban business users in this
state; and
(v) One member representing urban residential users in this
state.
(6) In addition to the thirteenvoting members of the council,
the President of the Senate shall name two senators from the West
Virginia Senate, one from each party, and the Speaker of the House
shall name two delegates from the West Virginia House of Delegates,
one from each party, each to serve in the capacity of an ex
officio, nonvoting advisory member of the council.
(c) The Secretary of Commerce shall chair the first meeting at
which time a chair and vice chair shall be elected from the members
of the council. In the absence of the chair, the vice chair shall
serve as chair. The council shall appoint a secretary-treasurer who
need not be a member of the council and who, among other tasks or
functions designated by the council, shall keep records of its
proceedings.
(d) The council may appoint committees or subcommittees to
investigate and make recommendations to the full council. Members
of these committees or subcommittees need not be members of the
council.
(e) Seven voting members of the council constitute a quorum and the affirmative vote of a simple majority of those members
present is necessary for any action taken by vote of the council.
(f) The council is part time. Public members appointed by the
Governor may pursue and engage in another business or occupation or
gainful employment. Any person employed by, owning an interest in
or otherwise associated with a broadband deployment project,
project sponsor or project participant may serve as a council
member and is not disqualified from serving as a council member
because of a conflict of interest prohibited under section five,
article two, chapter six-b of this code and is not subject to
prosecution for violation of said section when the violation is
created solely as a result of his or her relationship with the
broadband deployment project, project sponsor or project
participant so long as the member recuses himself or herself from
board participation regarding the conflicting issue in the manner
set forth in legislative rules promulgated by the West Virginia
Ethics Commission.
(g) No member of the council who serves by virtue of his or
her office receives any compensation or reimbursement of expenses
for serving as a member. The public members and members of any
committees or subcommittees are entitled to be reimbursed for
actual and necessary expenses incurred for each day or portion
thereof engaged in the discharge of his or her official duties in
a manner consistent with the guidelines of the Travel Management
Office of the Department of Administration.§31-15C-4. Powers and duties of the council generally.
(a) The council shall:
(1) Explore any and all ways to expand access to broadband
services, including, but not limited to, middle mile, last mile and
wireless applications;
(2) Gather data regarding the various speeds provided to
consumers in comparison to what is advertised. The council may
request the assistance of the Legislative Auditor in gathering this
data;
(3) Explore the potential for increased use of broadband
service for the purposes of education, career readiness, workforce
preparation and alternative career training;
(4) Explore ways for encouraging state and municipal agencies
to expand the development and use of broadband services for the
purpose of better serving the public, including audio and video
streaming, voice-over Internet protocol, teleconferencing and
wireless networking; and
(5) Cooperate and assist in the expansion of electronic
instruction and distance education services.
(b) In addition to the powers set forth elsewhere in this
article, the council is hereby granted, has and may exercise all
powers necessary or appropriate to carry out and effectuate the
purpose and intent of this article. The council shall have the
power and capacity to:
(1) Provide consultation services to project sponsors in connection with the planning, acquisition, improvement,
construction or development of any broadband deployment project;
(2) Promote awareness of public facilities that have community
broadband access that can be used for distance education and
workforce development;
(3) Advise on deployment of e-government portals such that all
public bodies and political subdivisions have homepages, encourage
one-stop government access and that all public entities stream
audio and video of all public meetings;
(4) To make and execute contracts, commitments and other
agreements necessary or convenient for the exercise of its powers,
including, but not limited to, the hiring of consultants to assist
in the mapping of the state and categorization of areas within the
state;
(5) Acquire by gift or purchase, hold or dispose of real
property and personal property in the exercise of its powers and
performance of its duties as set forth in this article;
(6) Receive and dispense funds appropriated for its use by the
Legislature or other funding sources or solicit, apply for and
receive any funds, property or services from any person,
governmental agency or organization to carry out its statutory
duties; and
(7) Perform any and all other activities in furtherance of its
purpose.
(c) The council shall exercise its powers and authority to advise the Legislature on bringing broadband service to unserved
and underserved areas.
(d) The council shall report to the Joint Committee on
Government and Finance on or before January 1 of each year. The
report shall include the action that was taken by the council
during the previous year in carrying out the provisions of this
article. To the extent the report addresses data gathered in
connection with subdivision (2), subsection a, section four of this
article, a copy of the report shall be provided to the Attorney
General. The council shall also make any other reports as may be
required by the Legislature or the Governor.

Note: WV Code updated with legislation passed through the 2015 Regular Session
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